The Serpent and the Staff III ~ Turning the Last Page

Author

File Description

Nickonhawk

Posted on 03/04/18 @ 12:26 PM (updated 08/20/19)

File Details

Style:

Build and Destory

# of Scenarios:

?

Version:

AoM:EE

The time has come, for our journey to end. But, before descending into the void of forgotten legends, we have one more moment. To live. To fight. Just close your eyes, one more time, before turning the last page.

First of all, tons of apologies for taking so long and maybe rushing some parts. Life is very life. If you find any problems and let me know, I will try to fix as soon as I can. I always do.
Second, I want to thank everyone who commented or left any form of feedback, now or trough the years. You're the reason my work is possible. And even if you just download, thank you. This campaign is dedicated to all of you!

A few notes, there are two versions, DLC and NO DLC. The DLC version has an extra scenario, Chapter IV, the other maps have no differences. Also, the AI is no longer made out of triggers. There are places where enemies spawns, but hotile bases will be controlled by a real, aggressive, AI. Every scenario except for the finale has a hidden mechanic or mini-quest that will help you win on higher difficulties.

And now that we are on the subject, some good news! The difficulty nightmare has been driven back, and now you're actually going to get the experience you chose before starting the map. Thanks to Playerwinner, amazing pro player, for playtesting and helping with balance. He made sure that the Titan difficulty is winnable.

I'm not going to caps ten times that you have to play the previous campaigns, players that care hopefully will. If you already have, then enjoy and have a good time!

Final mission update. (Heroes now send a caps chat when they are too close to lava, fixed random bugs, more eyecandy.)

user1362498

Posted on 11/09/18 @ 06:44 AM

The instructions are not clear. How can I write letters? I just failed every riddle. The chat box is banned for cheat codes, right? Or is it a bug?

melo77

Posted on 08/13/19 @ 06:37 PM

You're underrated man! You're doing great stuff! Can't wait to play it. I'm playing the second one right now. The first one was brilliant. Almost official campaigns level.

melo77

Posted on 08/18/19 @ 06:04 PM

Rating

4.8

Breakdown

Playability

4.0

Balance

5.0

Creativity

5.0

Map Design

5.0

Story/Instructions

5.0

Chapter 5 is unplayable (I'm not on Wabbah side) but since it is just a DLC I won't include it.

I don't want to decrease the playability mark just for an experiment like chapter 5 because The Serpent and the Staff III is possibly the best unofficial AOM campaigns I've ever played.

Playability: 4
(Still a 4 here. Man, what was the Glitch trick on Onslaught? Damn, it was stunning. Hate it and love it at the same time. Chapter 3 is the only one that could be improved. Though I loved the hidden gold mines, the very helpful relic out there and the two corner settlements, you don't have enough time for a proper strategy and map control. It requires only skill. Fast selecting, good hotkeys and that's all. You were supposed to reach Mythical but you have to constantly train units so you can hardly advance to Heroic. But maybe I'm not a good player. Demolishing the boulder wall does not get you a big reward, you get three fortresses in the upper corner which I admit that could make you winner, but I don't wanna run for my life with my hero. Or if that was the purpose, I want to see violent attacks when the countdown is around 2 minutes. Still my TC was doing good. In terms of balance it was ok, no doubt, but I felt I wasn't free to customize my game. I only mentioned the bad part and I could be wrong about it but I assure you it is still a great scenario.
Secondly I don't really like spawning creatures when it's not a Tartarian Gate, deep lava or any other Passage around. I clean the map for my villagers but they get attacked by chaotic spawned creatures.)

Balance: 5
(I love the fact that you really have to fight for your resources in every chapter, but I suggest a little protected gold mine to start with. Great balance, your first campaign was like 3 in terms of balance, your second one a 4 and this one a 5. Started on moderate cause I expected a poor balance but I switched on hard. Good job here!)

Creativity: 5
(I don't have much to say about that. All in all, a cool campaign!
But honestly you're not an excellent narrator. I only judge your creativity as a scenario maker and map editor which is arguably a 5 but you have to be a better story teller. You have great ideas, the story line was great, but in my opinion the Norse part didn't seem to have anything in common with the rest of the campaign. It looked like Remus and the Giants were not in the same story with Wabbah and his Greek or Egyptian friends.
I like your humor but mythology is supposed to be a very meaningful subject. Interchange humor with dramatic lines.
Also you fast-forwarded Wabbah's evolution. Now he's a helpless baby who doesn't know where he comes from, two minutes later he's dissing everyone who stands in his way.)

Map Design: 5
(I really like the fact that you really used everything ready to hand to create some new elements. There are perfectly balanced maps in terms of realistic and fantastic images. Neither tedious, nor kitsch. Maybe too many wild animals. I get the idea but I don't wanna focus too much on killing crocodiles and lions to protect my villagers. On the other hand, nice rare animals like rams.)

Story/Instructions: 5
(Always on point. Sometimes even too helpful. But I suggest a more formal language in the instructions.)

Additional Comments:

Great, great campaign! Hard work is always rewarded (at least I hope so). Keep doing good stuff, man! I really had a good time. I'm thankful!

[Edited on 08/19/19 @ 06:13 AM]

NickonhawkFile Author

Posted on 08/20/19 @ 02:26 PM

I can't believe I forgot to update the final chapter's player on AoMHeaven. Oh well, better late than never. Chapter IV is the DLC one, Chapter V is the grand finale. I hope you did edit it to play as player 1, otherwise give it a shot now, I fixed it.
Thanks for telling me and thanks for the review! Take a look at my other singleplayer stuff for more cool stories :P

Edit: Now there are a few old maps that aren't all that great, just me growing up as a designer. So I made a "Singleplayer Adventures" collection on Steam with only the best that I've got. You can find it here https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=848618203